It has become unpopular to invoke cultural and individual factors to explain the appalling conditions of Australia's Indigenous population. Some of the pronouncements emanating from government and other quarters are patronising and couched in terms that suggest that Indigenous people are wilfully recalcitrant.

'Should I shake someone’s hand or will it offend?’ ‘Should I have my head covered?’ ‘Will they think I’m really thick if I ask why they do that?’. These were some of the common concerns for the 30 young people involved in a multi-faith experiment in late January.